Calumet

History

What is now Calumet was settled in 1864, originally under the name of Red Jacket, for a Native American Chief of the Seneca tribe. Until 1895 the name "Calumet" was used by the nearby town of Laurium, Michigan; present-day Calumet was not legally named so until 1929. Red Jacket grew due to the copper mines in the area. It was incorporated as a town in 1867. The copper mines were particularly rich; the Boston-based Calumet and Hecla Mining Company produced more than half of the United States' copper from 1871 through 1880. In addition to copper mining and smelting, the region also supported the dairy industry and truck farming. Many immigrants (from Poland and other countries) settled there in the late 19th century. By 1900, Red Jacket had a population of 4,668, and Calumet Township, which contained Red Jacket and nearby mining towns, had a population of 25,991. However, in 1913, Red Jacket suffered from the Copper Country Strike of 1913–1914, and the population began to decline. In the same year, the town was the site of the Italian Hall Disaster. Striking miners and their families were gathered on Christmas Eve for a party in Italian Hall, when the cry of "fire" precipitated a stampede that crushed or suffocated seventy-three victims, over half of them children under ten years old. The identity of the person(s) who started the stampede has never been determined. Folk singer Woody Guthrie's 1945 song, "1913 Massacre", is based on this event. Loss of wartime demand caused the copper price to drop following World War I. With the decreased demand for copper, thousands left Red Jacket in the 1920s, many moving to Detroit, Michigan, where the automobile industry was booming. During the Great Depression, almost all mines were shut down. As a result, many miners and…

Geography

It is bordered on the north by Calumet Township, on the south by the unincorporated towns of Newtown and Blue Jacket, on the east by Blue Jacket and Calumet Township, and on the west by Yellow Jacket and Calumet Township. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land. Calumet is at an elevation of above sea level. The village of Calumet sits on of underground mine shafts, drifts and stopes, empty for many decades. Large portions of the Keweenaw National Historical Park are located inside the village limits, mostly covering the intricate complex of the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company's main operations.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,185
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  4,217
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,523
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,063
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,685
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  2,056
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,022
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,882